Time Enough
by Gallifrey Immigrant
Summary: If you stand in one canyon over in the valley, where the shadows of the 13 cliffs overlap, you can hear a man screaming. He says 'No, no, no'
1. Chapter 1

The man at the end of the aisle laughed loudly. I looked at him, wondering what was funny. He was apparently drunk, and his conversation partner, a young woman of around 20, seemed slightly embarrassed.

"It's an old tale. A myth, and if you stand in one canyon over in the valley, where the shadows of the 13 cliffs overlap, you can hear a man screaming. He says 'No, no ,no!' Over and over, like his soul is being ripped from his body. They say it's the ghost of a man," said the guy. His smile looked maniacal, but a sadness crossed his eyes. Like he was chilled to the bone.

My friend leaned over, and asked "Sam, that guy's a bit creepy."

He turned around, and trawled over to us. I instinctively shielded her with my body, but he only laughed at me. "I'm not gonna hurt ya, girl. No need to be scared. The ghost is real, though. They say that if you drive there, and watch the sky as it snows, you'll see him. You'll see him in the gaps. I've seen him."

"Prove it," I said.

The man fished in his pocket. He showed a photo of some oddly shaped, decayed picture of a man. The man's skin was ashen grey, and his nails were rotted brown. A long white mane of hair, like an albino lion, fell from his head. His eyes didn't look dead, however. They seemed angry, like some goblin that lived in a cave, and stole your first born.

"Looks Photoshopped," I said.

"Kids these days. So cynical," the man said.

My friend's eyes widened, however. She looked honestly scared, as if she had seen a ghost.

"Bill, it's just a scary story," I told her. She smiled uneasily, brushing her hair.

"Ya friend can keep the picture. I think she knows ghosts exist. Don't you, Bill?" said the man.

At that point, I decided to just grab Bill and leave. Grocery shopping could wait.

One day, years later, I took another look at that picture. I noticed something I can't believe I missed before. In the background, you can see someone else in the shadows of the picture. I can't tell whether it's a man, or a woman, whether brunette or blonde (ginger)? The other person seems to be reaching out to the emaciated man. But I can see the eyes. That other person looks hopeful.

Everytime I look at that pic, the person looks like they're getting closer. Must be my mind playing trick on me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Must be my mind playing tricks on me," I explained to my girlfriend, Penny., over the phone I was just telling her how I thought I had seen Bill very recently. No one knew what happenned to Bill. Some people theorized she ran away. Other people thought that maybe she went to a different school. Other blamed that weird professor. I used to think they all were crazy, but I've seen a lot of stuff in my older years.

Life makes you so damn cynical.

Bill was a pretty good friend. Always could make you laugh, and knew quite a bit of science fiction trivia. She never came off as a stereotypical nerd, but ask her about the right fandom, and she could list all sorts of facts.

These are the sort of things I think about on long drives by myself. Barrel of laughs, I am.

And then I saw something in the distance. A dark shadow crawling from the formless gloom of the night. I slowed down for a bit. The shadow drew closer, and I could barely see it in the night time.

It's just a woman. The first thing I thought was, "unpaid art student." She's wearing a mish-mash of clothes, along with weird earrings. On one ear. And she's walking slowly through the snowy area, looking vaguely confused.

I call out "Lady? Are you okay?"

The woman looked at me, and it unnerved me. I couldn't quite figure out why.

"I'm fine. May I go into your car? For travel purposes?"

Right now, I'm trying to understand whether she's a dangerous murderhobo or just a kooky woman. I turn on my headlights, and get a better look at her. Her gaze hits me, and it's like a force. She's barely blinking.

"Please? I need to get to my home," she pleaded. She had a pleasant Yorkshire accent, and there was an honest desire in her voice. After a few seconds of thought, I let her in.

She clumsily opened my door, and sat herself down. After a moment of looking around, she tugged the seat-belt, and then bizarrely, nibbled on the strap.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?"

"Hrm? I wanted to make sure the strap was good for my current body," she asked, as if that explained everything. I was considering leaving her on the side of the road, when she said "Let's pick it up. I don't want you to be late."

"Where's your home?" I asked.

"In the mountains. Up ahead," she said, gesturing with her hand.

We didn't talk for much of the ride, at first. I got the feeling she had a lot on her mind, and didn't really want to talk about it. Until she noticed the vinyl records in the back of my car. I told her I had an interest in classic vinyl records, from my grandfather. Most people think it's silly, even if hey don't say it. But the Doctor didn't seem to judge at all.

Oh yeah, that was the first creepy thing. She never told me her name was the Doctor, or rather, I don't remember her telling me. I just knew somewhere along the way. The second creepy thing was when she looked at me. Remember me mentioning how her gaze earlier unnerved me? It's because she looked at me with total focus. You don't get that from most people. I don't even always get that from Penny. But the Doctor just stared at you. Even when it seems she's distracted, she's usually still listening.

Also, she took apart my cell phone, out of boredom. When I complained, she was really cute while apologizing, and then put it back together. It was a state of the art phone. She tried to act like it was no big deal, but it's literally never lost cell service or Wi-Fi signal since then.

"Stop."

It was a command. I stopped the car. She peeked out the window, and then stuck her tongue out. Swathes of green trees covered the side of the road, except for a small clearing. The clearing looked like a path, leading up to the darkness.

"This is where your house is?"

She nodded. Quietly, she slipped out of the car and wandered up the path. As I watched her go, I thought "What the hell" and followed her.

The forest smelled like a recent rain, even though there hadn't any rain in days. I could just barely see the edge of her clothing in the distance. I tried to catch up to her, but the pathway kept on getting longer and longer. Eventually, I lost her.

I sighed. My legs were tired. Turning around, I saw a shadow right next to my car. It was a long, reedy person. As I got closer to my car, I could hear the person whispering "No, no, no..."

Suddenly, the person's face turned to look at me. He whispered, in an old voice of dust, "Do you believe in change?"

"Excuse me, I need to get to my car," I said, trying to move around the figure. It's hand grasped my wrist, and I felt a deathly coldness crawl up my arm.

"Answer me!" it said. I looked in its face, and it looked like its facial features were decaying, like the oldest person you've ever seen.

"I don't know!" I said. "Yes, I suppose change is good!"

The decrepit creature made an ungodly howl, and orange light erupted from its chest. The heat began to burn my hand, and my eyes were blinded by the neverending glow.

"NO!"

At first, I thought that was the decrepit man's screams. But I felt a yank back, and saw the coat arm of the Doctor. I fell to the ground, as the Doctor faced the creature.

"Leave her. You are an old man, trying to stop the inevitable," said the Doctor. Her coat looked like a cape in the golden glow.

"Katerina! Kamelion! Bill Potts! Amy Pond!" said a voice. It seemed to be words carried across the wind, which was picking up faster and faster.

"So what? Everyone loses something. Everyone. Get over it," screamed the Doctor.

"Death by Cyber-men. Death by Dalek. Death of old age!"

"I can't stop death," said the Doctor, her voice cracking.

"Doctor, I waited for you. I waited for you in France. But you never came back," said the decrepit old man, in the voice of a woman.

"Oh, I see. I know what you are now. Come here, you silly child," said the Doctor, moving for a hug.

"No!" snarled the creature, whose golden light now covered the entire area. It flooded my brain, until I fell unconscious.

When I awakened, I was at my house. Penny rapped her hand on my window, looking concerned. Groggily, I stepped out the car. She told me how I had driven into the driveway, and then stayed sleep in the car for hours. She had been calling my name for several minutes, when I had awoken. When I told her my dream, she just shook her head. I couldn't explain it, so I decided not to even try.

Later on, in our bed, I noticed a fresh scar on my hand.


End file.
